New Hampshire Rep. Charles Weed (D), newly in the majority, has introduced a bill to raise the state's beer tax from 30 cents per gallon to 40 cents per gallon. That brought a swift veto promise from Gov. Maggie Hassan (D): "I want to let the people of New Hampshire know I oppose increasing the beer tax and I will veto it if it gets to my desk."

Beer taxes are incredibly unpopular. My rule of thumb is that the more a tax hits most people, the more unpopular it is, and that's why beer taxes remain low and most politicians don't dare raise them. The last tax that will be raised in any state is the beer tax. Call it The Al Bundy Tax Rule:

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Since we released our report on sources of personal income in 2012, I’ve gotten a lot of questions and comments on pension and retirement income, specifically. This category of income is often weirdly overlooked or...